In early 2016, members of the Rockefeller Foundation got together with the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), the innovation lab for the Inter-American Development Bank Group, and established that they were both working to support social innovation labs and organizations, yet neither had the full picture. With the MIF’s geographic focus only on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Rockefeller’s preference for Africa and Asia, each organization was missing out on a global perspective. So, the idea of co-organizing a global summit of social innovation organizations was launched.

When it comes to financial inclusion, the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region is no stranger to innovations coming from the outset of the formal financial sector. In fact, microcredit and agent banking are prime examples that illustrate the willingness of both regulated and non-regulated institutions to adopt creative new solutions in the quest to improve access and quality of financial services for certain underserved sectors of the population. Successful innovations such as this have become intricately woven into the fabric of formal financial systems in the region. However, in the case of Fintech, the situation is different. A Fintech innovation goes beyond simply improving an existing financial service or enhancing back-office operations; it can be way more disruptive, nimble and massive than that. It can create an entirely new type of institution or even a completely new concept, testing new ways altogether for interacting with clients.

Payments are nowadays widely considered to be gateways for financial inclusion. Withdrawing money or repaying a loan are basic financial transactions without which traditional financial products like credit, savings and insurance would not be possible.